An archaeological park is an
archaeological site that has been preserved and opened to
the public. Commonly, they preserve archaeological sites
with above-ground remains, such as the large and
impressive mound complexes of the Southeast and Midwest
or the ancient pueblos of the Southwest.

Archaeological
parks are usually managed by state or federal
governments, as part of parks systems, historical
societies, museums, and universities. There is a great
deal of diversity among archaeological parks in their
areas of development, management, and programming,
although many of them offer interpretive exhibits,
educational programs, and special events.

For
more information about archaeological parks, see Archaeological
Parks: Integrating Preservation, Interpretation, and
Recreation, edited by Mary L. Kwas, Tennessee
Department of Conservation, Division of Parks and
Recreation, 1986. (For information on purchasing copies
of this publication, contact the Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation).

Purpose of this web site

Internet
information on individual archaeological parks is often
hidden within the web sites of managing agencies and
therefore sometimes is difficult to find. This web site
provides links to archaeological parks in the United
States, in order to expedite finding them. We are not
responsible, however, for the content of those pages. The
archaeological parks are listed by the states in which
they are located.

Criteria for selection

Only archaeological parks that
have web sites were included. The geographic area is limited to the United
States. The parks predominately represent Native American sites, mainly
prehistoric or early historic, although some contact-period sites are
included. In the eastern United States, most of the archaeological parks
are mound sites; in the west, they are often pueblo sites.

No strictly
Euro-American archaeological parks were included. These
kinds of archaeological parks may include such sites as
Civil War battlefields, early towns, and plantations.
Among the reasons for not including these sites is that
such sites tend to be more readily identified as historic
sites/museums, suggesting a somewhat different focus,
development, and support network from prehistoric Native
American archaeological parks.

Please let us know if we have missed any archaeological parks that you feel should be included. Send email to archinfo@uark.edu.